Liu Mingzhi read the contents of the document with concentration, and Song Qing retracted his original intention to drink tea, fearing that the movement would disturb his third brother's thoughts.
The study room suddenly became silent. Except for the even breathing of the two people and the movement of Liu Mingzhi flipping through the papers, there was no sound anymore.
After about a stick of incense, Liu Mingzhi closed the document in his hand with calm eyes, gently put the document on the desk, stood up, walked to the window sill and stopped.
After admiring the scenery outside the window in silence for a long time, Liu Mingzhi slowly turned around and looked at Song Qing, who was sitting quietly on the chair.
“Big brother.”
"Um?"
"The training schedule for these 100,000 recruits is well prepared, but there is one thing that needs attention. It is best to make some adjustments at that time."
Song Qing hurriedly corrected his posture and looked at Young Master Liu seriously.
"What's not appropriate? If there is anything wrong, I will inform the Ministry of War when I get back and ask them to adjust the plan in the charter as soon as possible."
Liu Mingzhi walked to the desk, picked up the document, and opened it, lightly tapping on one of the contents with his finger.
“The generals who train them cannot all be old soldiers selected from the Forbidden Army. The morale of the Forbidden Army troops is certainly good, but the number of battlefield campaigns over the years is ultimately limited.
Compared to the rich combat experience of the frontier army officers and soldiers who have gone through hundreds of battles, the soldiers and horses of the Forbidden Army are slightly inferior no matter how you look at them.
After the formal formation of the army, these 100,000 new troops are not going to travel around the mountains and rivers, but to be integrated into the Western Expedition Army sequence to charge for the imperial court and open up territory to expand the territory. Naturally, it is not enough if the morale is good.
They need to clearly understand the situation on the battlefield, the course of the battle, and the specific experience of fighting on the battlefield, and the only people who can teach them these are frontier soldiers who have truly experienced life and death battles.
Only by mastering these, the recruits' losses must be reduced by at least 20% in the first bloody battle. They are all young, strong, and in their prime. If you can reduce some losses, you can reduce some losses.
Brothers, as the king of a country, I must try my best to prevent the wives, children and children of the soldiers’ families from seeing the result of the great dragon’s son returning home in armor and his soul returning to his hometown.
Whether it is a son, a husband, or a father, if he can return safely, it is naturally better to return safely.
They are willing to sacrifice their lives and blood to serve the country. As the current emperor, I must do my best to ensure their safety.
After returning home, I sent a letter to Zhou Baoyu and Ye Baotong. After receiving the letter, they immediately dispatched a hundred elite generals to rush to the capital at high speed. After my approval, I will serve as the generals to train new soldiers."
“Okay, I will send a message to the north as soon as I get back.”
“Also, I ordered the Ministry of War to pass on my oral instructions to the new recruits. This time, the positions of the second marshal of the 100,000-strong army and the generals of the various departments will no longer be assigned by me personally, but will be left to them to compete for themselves.
There are a total of six competition items: fists and kicks, battle formations, military formations, military books, military strategies, and art of war. Who can win the seal of the Second Marshal depends entirely on their own ability.
In other words, the position of second marshal this time should be occupied by a capable person."
After listening to Liu Mingzhi’s words, Song Qing’s expression quickly became solemn.
“Third brother, this...isn’t this a bit too risky?
Once these oral instructions are handed down, if the new soldiers of the three armies compete for the Marshal's seal and...thereby..."
Seeing Song Qing's cautious expression, Liu Mingzhi picked up the teacup and shook his head with a smile.
“I have already considered the things you are worried about.
In order to prevent them from scheming for their own selfish interests and doing things that benefit themselves at the expense of others, the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Punishment, and the Ministry of Personnel need to formulate a set of reasonable regulations as soon as possible to restrain them.
The soldiers must be allowed to compete for the marshal's seal in an open and fair manner, and the regulations can be drawn from the content of the imperial examination system."
As he spoke, Liu Mingzhi opened the drawer, took out a stack of rice paper and placed it in front of Song Qing.
“Brother, this is a rough plan that I drew up a long time ago. You can leave it to the officials of the third ministry to carefully refine it.
If there are areas that need improvement, just improve them, and if there are areas that are not needed, just delete them.”
Song Qing picked up the rice paper in front of him without hesitation, glanced at the contents on it, then folded them together and put them into his sleeves.
“I understand, brother, please convey your intention to the officials of various ministries as soon as possible and ask them to work together to handle this matter as soon as possible.
Besides this, are there any other questions?”
Liu Mingzhi leaned back slightly on the chair, tapping his fingertips on the table in a rhythmic rhythm. The expression on his face was a little hesitant, as if he was hesitating about something.
Young Master Liu's reaction made Song Qing feel suddenly in his heart. He secretly guessed that Young Master Liu was thinking about something that was so difficult to decide.
"What...what's wrong? Is there something difficult?"
Liu Mingzhi took a deep breath, grabbed the document and read the contents for a while.
"According to the contents of the document, there are many children of powerful people among these 100,000 recruits. Do you know all these things, brother?"
“The document was sent to you after I reviewed it. I naturally know the contents.
─Are you worried that the existence of these powerful children will make the competition for the commander-in-chief unfair?”
“Yes, I am more or less worried.
Remember, no matter whether they entered through real skills or through the back door, they must pay close attention to their every move when competing for the commander-in-chief.
Their background is already stronger than that of recruits who are from ordinary people. If they rely on their own power and connections to compete for the commander's seal, it will be too unfair for recruits who are from ordinary people.
If you win the position that belongs to them by virtue of your true talents and knowledge, I will naturally have nothing to say, but if you engage in some family-related behavior to compete for the big seal, I will not be lenient.
No matter how you act, the summary is what I just said.
The great seal of the second marshal is for those who are capable.
During the training of new recruits, arrange for some of your trusted generals from the Forbidden Army to join the training, and pay close attention to the training of the new army. You must ensure that the principle of fairness and justice in winning the command will not be shaken.
If any officials from the ministry want to get involved in these matters, or even come to you to intercede, tell them directly. If they have any opinions or ideas, just come to me, Liu Mingzhi, to talk to them."
“Yes, I understand.”
“Brother, is there anything else besides the new recruits?”
"No, there are only a few matters that I am responsible for for my brother. Other government affairs are the responsibility of the six ministries, nine ministers and cabinet officials, and are not within my authority."
“It’s okay if you don’t. You go back and deal with the things I asked you first.
After I finish reviewing the remaining documents, we will go to Tianxiang Tower with my second brother, Lao Jia and others tonight.
Having been busy for so long, it’s time to relax.”
Song Qing’s eyes lit up and he stood up happily.
“It’s a deal, brother, I’ll go back and take care of business first. You should hurry up and review the documents first. We’ll see you in the evening.”
“No problem, then I won’t give it away.”
“Take the first step.”
After Song Qing left, Liu Mingzhi picked up the cooling tea and walked to the window sill with a faint look, and stopped. Looking at the scenery outside the window, he was filled with thoughts.
Sigh, the relationship between the various generals in the army is already complicated enough, and it will definitely not be a good thing for the court if things continue like this.
It is not a good thing for the new king in the future.
These 100,000 new soldiers must establish their own troops for the future new king, and they cannot be allowed to get involved with the various generals of the imperial court.
The act of competing for the commander-in-chief on your own, hoping to get a few malleable talents for the children to guard the foundation.
If there is no plastic talent, the major events of the Western Expedition will have to make some changes.
Otherwise, it will be difficult for the new king to control the situation after he succeeds to the throne.
Eh? I seem to have overlooked some way to get the best of both worlds.
If the new king is tied to the soldiers, won't everything I'm worried about be solved?
It’s just that how to arrange it needs to be carefully considered.
Liu Mingzhi took a sip of tea silently, lowered his head with solemn eyes and began to think.